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The Language of Film
Prof. Myrna Monllor JiménezEnglish 124
© copyright Myrna Monllor Jiménez 2013
The great thing about literature is that you can imagine, the great thing about film is that you
can’t.
James Monaco, How to Read a Film
The Theater VS. The Cinema
In plays, the audience always observes
the entire stage and all the actors within
that stage.
In film, the filmmaker controls what the
audience sees and how by choosing the
information that viewer will see.
Mise-en-Scène/Placing on Stage
How everything that appears on the
screen is arranged• Actors• Lighting• Décor• Props
Mise-en-Scène
Blancanieves 2012
Mise-en-Scène
Blancanieves 2012
The better a viewer reads an image the more he/she understands it.
• Their physical reality• What they refer to based on cultural references• Their various sets of meanings
When you look at a frame, one of the first things to consider is distance.
How much do you see of the character (s)?•Is it a close up?•Is it a full shot?•Is it a medium shot?
Can you see the whole body or a part of the body?
Spiderman 3
In general the closer the camera gets to the characters, the closer the viewer feels towards the characters.
This is why close ups are often used for:
love scenes
scenes where the character is suffering or fearful
any other scene where the viewer is supposed to understand what the character is feeling.
The Great Gatsby 2013
As the camera moves further away from the character(s), the viewer is provided more information about them or about their situation.
From Rosemary’s Baby 1968 From Babel 2006
The further the camera is from the subject, the moredistant you will feel from what is happening in the sceneor to the character(s).
Wall-E 2008
Another thing you should consider when observingA frame is the angle or camera position.
Was the frame shot from high above? (a high angle)
Was it shot at eye level?
Was it shot from a low angle?
A frame shot from a high angle is often referred to as God’s eye view because it suggests that ‘someone’ is observing the characters. It can suggest danger and helplessness.
300 2006Anna Karenina 2013
Paranorman, 2012
Apocalypto 2007
A frame shot from a low angle makes the subject seem larger.
The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946
The Wolf of Wall Street 2013
Django Unchained 2013
The Lone Ranger 2013
Black Swan 2011
The Dark Knight 2008
Inglorious Basterds 2009
Paranorman, 2012
Looper, 2012
A character that seems larger than another in a frame is usually the dominant character.
Elysium 2013
The Departed 2006
A canted angle suggests that something is wrong either in the character or the story’s situation.
Citizen Kane 1941
Artificial Intelligence 2001
Besides shots and angles, you should also watch for symbols.
Some common symbols are:
Images of entrapment are usually shown through characters framed by doors, gates, or confined spaces (like closets).
From The Kid 1921
From Carrie 1976
Pan’s Labyrinth 2006
Atonement 2007
The Hours 2002
Drive 2010
The Painted Veil 2006
Inception 2010
Coraline, 2009
Alice in Wonderland, 2010
A Beautiful Mind 2001
The Departed 2006
Images of duality are usually represented by characters reflected in mirrors , water, glass.
Psycho 1960
The Lady from Shanghai,1947
Taxi Driver 1976
The Matrix 2003
Black Swan 2010
Black Swan 2010
Stairs, dark alleys, canted angles, darkness enveloping a character, seeing only part of a character are some images of imminent danger.
From Silence of the Lambs
From Kiss Me DeadlyFrom Halloween
From American Psycho
Light cutting through a character(s), lines which divide the frame, usually mark images of characters that are in turmoil.
From The Usual Suspects 1995
From Blade Runner 1982
From The Awful Truth 1937
Sweeney Todd 2007
Other Symbols
Christ figures or Messianic figures/Biblical References
From Dead Man Walking 1995
Crosses
From The Omen 1976
Pan’s Labyrinth 2006
From Hell 2001
Inception 2010
Shadows The top
From Schindler’s List 1993
Color
Rebirth
2006
1968
Eyes
From Un Perro Andaluz 1929
From Spellbound 1945
From The Blair Witch Project 1999
From Psycho 1960
Phallic symbols From King Kong 1933
From Blade 1998
From Rear Window 1954
Blood
Destruction or desecration of symbols
From Planet of the Apes 19681976
Slumdog Millionaire 2008
Trains
The Moon Water
Roads
From E.T. 1982
From Jaws 1975
From North by Northwest 1959
…and many others
Trees
From Alexander 2004
From Taken 2008
From The Ring 2002
The Black Dahlia 2006
The Power of the Editor
• The editor as storyteller– Cuts the film for transition purposes and
to provide information to the viewer– Omits/eliminates the sections of the story
that are too obvious or unnecessary (ellipsis)
– Alternates two or more scenes usually happening simultaneously that culminate in a place where the characters face each other (cross cutting/parallel cutting)
Cross Cutting/Parallel Cutting
Example: Quantum of Solace 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD0h7WcgJ5w
Crosscutting: The Godfather
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_I82117oAw
The Kuleshov Effect
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCK53Lb4-pI
Other definitions• Cliché- overuse of situations, symbols
• Voice over-a narrator whose voice is heard throughout a film
• Restricted narration-limited to one character
• Omniscient narration-changes from one character to another, the viewer receives information from many sources.
Auteurs/genre
• An auteur is a director who manifests a consistency of style and theme across his/her films. Auteur films are inventive and creative. Auteur films emphasize their uniqueness.
• Genre refers to a mass produced product of the Hollywood film industry.It studies the conventions of certain kinds of films. Genre categorizes films according to their thematic and visual similarities.Genres are not static, they evolve. They also create certain expectations in the viewer.
Bibliography
Buckland, Warren. Teach Yourself Film studies.Hodder & Stoughton, 1998.
Monaco James, How to Read a Film. Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 2000.
Elements of Cinema.comhttp://www.elementsofcinema.com
Copyright2013 ©Myrna Monllor Jiménez
